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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1946)
Six wins and no losses! That is the way it stands for the University of Oregon’s defending champion baseball team after completion of two-game series against three of the Northern Division clubs—Idaho, Washington State and Washington. At the beginning of the season the Ducks were a big ques tion mark. But in those first six games played on Howe field, they erased a lot of doubts the Oregon fans might have had that the Webfoots wouldn’t be in the running this year. Hob son’s men came out of the short spring training period with quite a bit of finesse and most of all a nevcr-give-up fighting spirit. Receiving one advantage from the schedule makers in that their first six games were played at home, the Oregon’s are set for the grueling Inland Empire tour with a big margin over the rest of the conference. Friday they open against Idaho in Moscow. After the Saturday’s encounter with the Vandals, the Ducks draw a days rest before mak ing the short jump to Pullman for two games with Wash ington State. From where we sit it looks as though the first four games of the tour mav tell the story for Oregon. If they win two or ■even three of the four, they will be awfully hard to beat out for the championship. The University of Washington Huskies promise to be tough in Seattle and with the tired Ducks playing their last two road games in Tubby Graves own back yard, a split would probably make Hobson plenty happy. ROUGH ON THE PITCHING STAFF Playing six games in seven days is really going to tax the 1 Hick hurling staff. Hal Saltzman, three time conference winner, will probably start the first against Idaho on Friday, the first against WSCon Mondav and the final tilt against Washington on the following Thursday. The rest of the hurling duties will lie divided among Lvle Pettyjohn, with two conference wins, Hick held with one and Ifomer Bropst. After that rough week in Idaho and Washington, the Webfoots bounce back to Howe field for their first test with the Oregon State College Beavers. Originally the schedule called for the conference opener to be against the Staters, but because of the limited period for spring train ing, those games were tacked onto the tailend of the slate. Subsequently the Ducks play their last four Division tilts against Coach Ralph Coleman’s nine. The same schedule that gave Oregon the early season break, gives OSC a mid-season advantage. The Beavers follow ( II the heels of the Ducks on the Inland tour and will receive the advantage of am softening tip the Oregons do. W e don’t want to get too hasty about naming the Ducks !<> win the Northern Division title again this year, because \. e almost put ourselves in the dog-house back in 1941. As the Webfoots started their tour with a big lead on the rest of the teams in the league that year, we couldn’t see how they could t ii>s -and said as much in the column. "Well, the do-or-die trip into the I’alouse countin' didn’t go too well. The high-riding, hard slugging ll)41 nine dropped five games in a row and came I ack to Eugene in second place behind the Beavers. The whole team accused us of jinxing the deal. The only reason we re gained am sort of standing at all around McArthur and Howe held was that Oregon managed to sneak out in the last two games for the title. THE REAL REASON OREGON WON FRIDAY Bernie llammerbeck. who pinch-hit for us in Saturdav’s column, quoted a lot of reasons Oregon managed to come up v. ith that thriller win over Washington Friday, but according t i llobln none of them were correct. Hobson broke out a lot ol new bats Friclax but none of the Oregon batters could get a hit with them in the first eight innings. So Ifobbv stacked ; it the new hickories under the bench, leaving onlv the old t'ied and true hats in the rack. That is the real reason Walt Lirsch was able to collect that first blow, and the Ducks were able to collect six runs to win the game in the wildest ninth inning rally we've seen in a long,long time. The Portland Beavers released Bill Carney to the Salem Senators in time for Carney to catch the Western Inter national league opener against Yakima Friday night. Car ney, three-year letterman for the Webfoots. stepped into number three spot in the Salem lineup and collected a double in four trips to the plate and batted in one run. Saturday night he blasted a triple into left center to bat in another. Bob Caviness, another ex-Webfoot with Salem, also hit in both games. Hobson Drills For Invasion; Road Squad Still In Doubt Four Positions Remain Open As Trip Nears Oregon’s league-leading baseball team continued stiff workouts yes terday in preparation for the gruel ing swing through the northern end of the loop, which begins Fri day at Moscow against the Idaho Vandals. • Coach Howard Hobson has not yet announced the personnel of the 15-man squad which will carry Oregon’s hopes for its fourth suc cessive pennant. Yesterday’s yan nigan game and the squad tussle scheduled for today are expected to decide the spots in doubt. Dick Rodiger, Hal Saltzman, Lyle Pettyjohn, Homer Bropst, Spike Johnson, Walt Kirsch, Ranny Smith, Jim Norvel, Bob Santee, Walt Lozoski and Tony Crish are certain mem bers of the traveling outfit. The other four spots are in doubt. Hobson’s squad yesterday al most duplicated Friday’s garrison finish against Washington. Trail ing by 10 runs in the final frame, they score six runs off Barney Koch's lads and had the bases full when Bass Dyer was picked off base to end' the game. • Pettyjohn and Dick Lehl worked on the hill for the Kochmen and Bob Warner and Dick Wilkins handled the mound chores for Hobson. Hal Saltzman and A1 Paulson, a newcomer to thg squad, are scheduled to work for the two teams today with Bill Long and Bropst ready for the relief woi’k. Game time is about 4 p.m. Washington Whips OSC In ND Game NORTHERN DIVISION STANDINGS . Won Lost Pet. Oregon . 6 0 1.000 OSC . 3 2 .000 Washington . 4 3 .571 Idaho . 2 4 .333 WSC . 0 6 .000 CORVALLIS, April 29—Wash ington hopped all over the offer ings of Don Cecil. Oregon State's sore-armed ace right-hander in the fifth inning here yesterday to win a slugging contest, 9 to 7. The loss dropped the Beavers two and half games back of the undefeated Oregon Ducks. The teams clash again today in the fi nal game of the series here. Oregon State made a belated at tempt to get back in the ball game in the ninth inning, but Max So riano rushed to the rescue of Bob Goldberg and clamped down on the rally. Washington 001 0G0 110 9 12 3 Oreg. State 031 000 012 7 10 0 Goldberg, Soriano (9) and Con stantino; Cecil, Frazier (6) and Wagner. Sports Staff This Issue A1 Pietschman Bennie Hammerbeclc Dewey Roberts John Smith Larry Lau Duck Hitting Plummets; Kirsch, Crish Still Lead Washington’s pitchers took a healthy cnt out of the Oregon hatting averages last Friday and Saturday. The statistics for the first six Northern Division games follow. PLAYER G AB R H RBI Ave. PO A E Ave. Morrison, u .. 1 1 0 1 0 1.000 0 0 0 .000 Dyer, u. 2 2 0 1 0 .500 0 0 0 .000 Kirsch, 2b-of. 6 20 4 9 5 .450 13 13 1 .960 Crish, cf. 6 25 5 10 7 .400 6 2 3 .727 Santee, ss-of. 5 23 7 ’9 5 .391 11 S 4 .826 Saltzman, p . 4 12 2 4 0 .333 0 5 1 .833 Johnson, lb. 6 21 6 6 7 .286 57 2 1 .983 Lozoski, cf . 5 16 3 4 1 .250 3 1 1 .800 Smith, ss. 4 8 2 2 1 .250 7 7 1 .933 Bropst, p . 3 5 1 1 0 .200 0 7 1 .875 Pettyjohn, p . 2 5 1 1 2 .200 0 2 Norvell, 3b . 6 21 5 4 0 .190 7 13 Cohen, 2b . 5 12 4 2 2 .166 10 9 Rodiger, c . 6 20 5 3 6 .150 38 7 Dibble, of . 5 12 2 0 1 .000 10 1 Long, p-cf. 3 1 0 0- 0 .000.. 0 0 1 Jones, cf . 3 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 Wilkins, u . 1 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 Lehl, p . 1 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 1 .500 Greene, c . 1 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 1.000 7 .744. 0 1.000 0 1.000 0 1.000 .000 Totals .. 6 205 47 57 37 .278 162 78 22 .918 PITCHER G W L IP SO W ERA Ave, Saltzman . 3 3 0 27 23 Pettvjohn . 2 2 0 7.33 Lehl . 1 1 1 2.67 Bropst . 2 0 015.33 Long . 1 0 0 1.67 o 2 9 0 1.00 1.000 1.20 1.000 0.00 1.000 0 7 0.00 3' 0.00 .000 .000 Totals .. 6 6 0 54 37 21 1.14 l.QgO_ Oregon Nine Sweeps Washington Series; Saltzman Hurls Shutout Oregon’s surprising diamond Ducks continued to dominate the Northern Division baseball pen nant chase on Howe field Satur day, by turning back the Univer sity of Washington Huskies, 4-0, to register their sixth straight con ference victory. Hal Saltzman, veteran right hander, returned from Bremerton, Washington, where he went to re ceive his discharge from the Ma rine Corps, in time to start on the mound for the Hobsonmen. Though the big letterman lacked control in the early innings, he was tight in the pinches and scattered six hits to chalk up his first shut-out and third conference win. The game, which was played in one hour and forty-five minutes, started out as a pitchers’ duel be tween Saltzman and Husky Bob Cole, but the Webfoots bunched three hits with an error in the fourth inning to count two runs. Bob Santee, another Duck play er who received his service dis charge Friday, opened the fourth frame rally with a single to cen ter. His was the first base blow off Cole. Tony Crish, next up for Oregon, boomed a single into right field, sending Santee to third. Spike Johnson, Webfoot first sack er, hit a short fly ball into center and Santee scampered home after the catch for the initial score. Saltzman singled to deep short and Crish romped home from second when Bob Tate, Washington short stop, threw wild to second. Oregon tallied again in the fifth on two hits and the first baseman’s error. Kanny Smith singled to left, went to third on Walt Lozoski's one-base blow to right-center, and scor- | ed when Bob Swysgood let Ray Rice’s throw go through him into the stands. The Webfoots took advantage of another Husky error and Walt Kirsch’s double to left in the sev enth inning to score the final run of the game. Catcher Dick Rodiger was safe when Jim John, Washing ton substitute second sacker jug gled a ground' ball. Rodiger held up at second after Jim Norvell’s near perfect sacrifice along the third base line. Then Kirsch, who hit the only extra base blow of the game, came through with his dou ble to left field scoring Rodiger. In the sixth frame, Spike John (Please turn to page six) Baseball Results American League: Cleveland at New York, post poned, rain (will be played Thurs day. Only major league game scheduled. By United Press Tuesday’s probable pitchers: American -League: Detroit (Benton 1-11 at Boston Bagby 0-1). Cleveland (Reynolds 1-1) at New York (Bevens 1-0). St. Louis (Shirley 1-0) at Philadel phia (ChT-istopher 0-1). Chicago (Dietrich 1-1) at Washington (Scarborough 1-1). National League: New York (Koslo 0-1) at St. Louis (Wilks 0-0). Brooklyn (Head 1-0) at Chicago (Borowy 0-2). Boston (Lee 2-0) at Cincinnat^ (Blackwell 0-1). Philadelphia (Judd 1-1) at Pittsburgh (Albosta 0-1). Pacific Coast League: No games scheduled.